The present invention relates to the field of doors and other closures supported on rollers and guided in tracks. More particularly, the invention pertains to such doors formed of hinged panels, each panel alternately connected to and separated from the other panels.
Doors for opening and closing openings in garages, sheds and other storage spaces are usually formed of panels that extend laterally between tracks located at opposite sides of the opening. The panels, arranged in a series, each carry rollers at each lateral side. The rollers are supported on the tracks, which guide movement of the door panels as the door is opened and closed. Each track includes a horizontal length located above the opening, a vertical length parallel to the sides of the opening, and an arcuate transition section connecting the horizontal and vertical lengths.
The panels carry hinges, which interconnect the panels so that the door panels move as a unit along the tracks and articulate about the axis of the hinge pin when the door passes along the transition section.
Doors of this kind are either fully opened or fully closed. When the door is open, the door panels are in the horizontal track length; when closed, the lower panel is supported on the ground and all the panels are in a vertical plane filling the opening.
There is a need for a door of this kind to be partially open and partially closed so that it allows ventilation, provides a line of sight through the opening, and prevents the entrance of animals, wind-blown debris, and other unwanted objects.